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by Alexandra Kanonik, Program Director Jamaica Bay  July on Jamaica Bay marsh islands is a busy time for its human and animal residents. People are hitting the beach to cool off, fishes are migrating, terrapins are busy laying their eggs on sandy berms, cow nose rays are flapping in the surf, horseshoe crabs are wrapping up their spawning activity, shorebirds are coming in to feed on horseshoe crab eggs, herons like Edgar the Egret are busy feeding their fluffy young, and of course Osprey parents are working very hard feeding their own fledglings, as they need to grow large enough to migrate with their parents South for the Fall.
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by Julie Schumacher-Carroll, Habitat Restoration Coordinator  In Shark River, the data from the 2026 horseshoe crab season is in, and the results are exciting! Shark River is a unique location for horseshoe crabs to access and utilize. Compared to the open waters on Delaware Bay, horseshoe crabs must travel through a turbulent inlet to access the Shark River basin and are then met with a predominately hardened shoreline.
by Zack Royle, Habitat Restoration Manager  Horseshoe crabs at Kimbles Beach. Photo credit: Sue Allen Over the past two months, we have been monitoring horseshoe crabs at Kimbles Beach to better support our restoration work. Every spring, thousands of horseshoe crabs crawl out of the surf and onto Kimbles Beach to lay their eggs. While only a tiny fraction of those eggs become adult horseshoe crabs, millions more provide food for fish, crabs, and migratory shorebirds, making horseshoe crabs one of the Delaware Bay's most important species.
by Kerstin Axe, Restoration Technician  A family visiting from California deploys a tag onto a horseshoe crab found on Thompsons Beach. The American Littoral Society began its 14th season of horseshoe crab tagging along the Delaware Bay on April 30th, 2026. Our first night of tagging for the 2026 season was met with an early – Spring chill, as well as one of our youngest volunteers this season. Night #1 was also met with somewhat surprising low numbers of horseshoe crabs coming up onto the beach for spawning. We believe this may have had something to do with the early – Spring chill that lingered for quite some time. Despite these challenges, the season commenced with 175 tags deployed on Thompsons Beach.
Jerry Kauffman, University of Delaware Lucia Osborne, American Littoral Society Andy Kricun, Environmental Consultant  As Philadelphia celebrates America's 250th birthday in the midst of a blistering 100‑degree heat wave, it is worth remembering that this city is one of the world’s great historic river towns. The Delaware and Schuylkill Rivers—and the creeks that feed them—have shaped Philadelphia’s identity for millennia. Today, they remain a billion‑dollar natural asset, offering recreation, cooling, ecological richness, and drinking water to millions. Yet these waters are still burdened by one of the most persistent and solvable pollution challenges of the 21st century: raw sewage discharges, known as combined sewer overflows (CSOs), contaminating our waterways as many as 195 days out of the year. If Philadelphia is to honor its river heritage and protect its residents during increasingly dangerous heat waves, it must commit to making its rivers and creeks truly clean.
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